Andromeda
by missmaryXDD
Summary: Do you know the story of Andromeda? Her father was King Cepheus, whose country was being ravaged by storms. In the end, he decided the only way to appease the gods was to sacrifice his daughter to a hideous sea monster. So they chained her, naked, to a rock but the sea monster didn't get her. Just when it seemed he was the only solution to her fathers problems, she rescued.
1. Chapter 1

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_**Note: **The soundtrack for this story is in my profile, if you want to listen to it while reading.

* * *

_Two ravens in the old oak tree_

_And one for you and one for me_

_And bluebells in the late December_

_I see signs now all the time_

_-_Signs by Bloc Party

* * *

_The two soldiers dragged the naked girl through the rough sand towards the sea, pulling her forward by her arms even though the girl made no move to escape. They chained Andromeda to a wet, sticky rock with sea weeds stuck to it, the closest one to the sea. They chained the young girls wrists and ankles, making sure she wouldn't be able to escape and after their job was done, they left as quickly as possible, not wanting to linger long on that place._

_The girl didn't struggle nor did she scream, she had accepted her fate long ago. She was to be sacrificed in exchange for peace._

* * *

"I'm going to take your daughter." Sakura heard the King tell her father.

_Take me?_ Sakura had been woken by the sound of the King and his small army arriving in her family's property. She had rushed getting out of bed to see what was happening and when she arrived, still in her bed clothes, they were already talking so she hid herself behind a wall and listened to their conversation. _Take me where?_

"My daughter? Why?" Father asked.

"Are you going to marry her?" Mother asked almost at the same time as father. Sakura was amazed at how her mother had such bravery to talk to a king like that.

The king didn't even bat an eyelash. "Yes." He admitted.

_Marry me? He can't. _Sakura didn't understand why he would want to marry her, she was already promised.

Sakura knew, from her father's expression, that he was furious. "She's going to be a hostage."

"She is going to be a queen." The king countered.

Father wasn't convinced. "A hostage nonetheless. Someone you can kill if we rebel."

"Exactly." He said. The way he had said it had given Sakura the chills. The hairs in her arm rose up and she was suddenly very, very cold. _Kill me?_

"I won't do her any harm if you don't give me a reason to." The tall man told father and then turned to speak to mother. "Will you, please, bring her here?"

"I am afraid what you ask is going to be impossible." Father said, obstinately ignoring that the King hadn't asked anything, rather he had commanded it. "My daughter is already betrothed."

_Yes, tell him, father_. After all how could she marry someone when she was already promised to another? And when that another was so gentle and gallant and brave? When that another was sunshine and fairytales and this one was blood and war and unhappy endings? No, that was impossible. She would never marry the usurper. She would marry the rightful King and she would be the rightful Queen_. No, never the usurper._

The black haired man gave father an ironic smile. "The traitor? You would rather see your daughter marry a traitor, an exiled and a soon-to-be dead man than be the rightful Queen?"

_He is no traitor, he is the rightful King._ Sakura saw, in her father's expression, that he probably wanted to say the same as her but he kept his mouth shut.

The king, seeing he had no opposition, turns to mother again. "Bring her here." This time there was no polite question masking a command, this really was a command and his tone had a finality to it, an implicit threat.

Sakura knew it was time for her to get out of there so she ran, as fast as she could, towards her room. She had been lucky for she had not met any maid on the way.

She quickly pushed the curtains close again, pushed the bed sheets back and jumped into bed, pretending to be asleep.

Sometime later her mother entered her room and woke her up.

"The king is here and he wants to see you." That was all she said. It seemed to Sakura that her mother was in a bad mood.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked, feigning ignorance. In their house the King was her cousin, Naruto and the other one was the usurper.

"No." She mumbled. Apparently Mother wasn't in a disposition to talk. "Now, stop asking questions and get dressed."

Mother went to the doors and called in her ladies to help Sakura get dressed. Mother chose a gown of a dark green, embroidered with pearls in the bodice and lace in the sleeves and neckline, that she deemed appropriate for the occasion. Sakura failed to see how a riding gown was appropriate for a meeting with the king but she chose not to voice her reluctance in her mother's choice of clothing.

While her ladies prepared her corset and unlaced her nightgown, mother started undoing the braid she had slept in.

Her ladies did their job quickly and efficiently and she was dressed faster than she had ever been before.

Mother hurried her towards the meeting room where the King was waiting for her.

"Your grace." Sakura greeted the usurper King, bowing deeply.

The tall and handsome man greeted back with the polite and customary 'my lady' and gestured for her to get up.

The usurper took two steps towards her and grabbed her chin, making her look up into his eyes but his eyes were looking elsewhere. First her face, then her chest and finally her hips. All the while his thumbs were sliding back and forth in her chin making her feel something she didn't quite understand. It wasn't the same feeling she got when Naruto touched her. Sakura didn't dislike it, as she thought she would, she actually quite liked it and she wanted more of it, more…something more she didn't knew what it was. It was a very strange feeling.

Sakura saw the Uchiha usurper nod and then he quickly released her.

"Pack her things, only the necessary for the trip in a pack that can be carried by horse. I shall provide whatever she needs once we reach the capital." He instructed mother. "We leave as soon as she is ready."

_What? No! You can't take me!_ Sakura turned to her mother, hoping to find some support there but her mother grabbed her arm and took Sakura to her room, to pack.

"Mother, I can't go with him, I am going to marry Naruto!" She shouted to her mother once they were in Sakura's bedroom.

"Hush, now." Her mother whispered. "There is nothing any of us can do right now. You have to go with the usurper and we have to hope Naruto will come and rescue you."

That sent shivers of delight travelling through her body. "He's going to rescue me?" She asked in a high pitched voice from the excitement. It was just like the fairytales. _The prince coming to rescue the princess from the clutches of the gruesome monster._

"Hopefully, yes." Mother said. "Now, do as you are told and pack."

Her ladies finished packing her things rather quickly after she chose what to take with her. They were actually efficient when they wanted to be. Sakura was to reprimand them later but then she remembered she was to go alone, her ladies were to stay here, with her family and to be replaced by new ones once she was settled in the castle. _Good riddance. A band of gossipers and sluts, not worthy of being the queen's ladies._

They were all ready when she stepped outside, in the cold, grey summer day. The king and his small travelling party were all mounted in their horses, waiting for her.

The King spotted her and trotted closer to her. "You can ride with sir Kiba, my lady." He said pointing towards the said man. He said it as if she was a child, as if she didn't know how to ride. _Naruto would know, Naruto would never tell me that. Naruto would give me my own horse and tell me to ride beside him._

"I can ride alone." She told him, making sure her voice was colder than the wind harassing them.

The usurper king raised an eyebrow. _He's doubting me, he thinks I'm weak._ "Are you sure, my lady?" He asked. "We wouldn't want y-"

"I know how to ride." Sakura said, interrupting him. "Every woman and child here learns how to ride since birth."

"I intend to bring peace to the kingdom." He said, after a moment of silence. He had understood what she meant. In these times of war, everybody had to learn to defend themselves and Sakura had been taught by the best.

They talked no more after that. The King retreated with sir Kiba and the servant's brought Sakura her horse. The white stallion, that had been Naruto's present for her coming of age, stood out in that sea of brown horses, just like she stood out with her pink hair and her ridding dress in a sea of men dressed, equally, in brown.

* * *

The ride to the capital was long and tiresome, for Sakura, although used to riding, had never rode such distances before and thus she was stiff, sore and very, very tired.

The king had told her they were taking the road by the coast for it was safer. He had told her that as the road had less trees, it was easier to see if there was someone to attack them and it was almost impossible to hide there.

It was quite curious to see the way the road changed as they approached the city, you start seeing small and poor houses here and there, few and far between but as you get closer to the city walls, the houses increase in number although, quite clearly, they belong to the peasants. However once you enter the city itself, once you get past the wall, past the gates, the amount of houses is almost unbelievable. There were so many and so close to each other that it left little room for the streets.

The city was built on a hill, with the castle resting on the very top of it and the rest of the city descending, literally, into the sea. It was a beautiful sight, the city and the sea, in harmony.

The main street was crowded with people who wanted to see the King's party and his wife-to-be. They clapped and laughed, they threw colored papers and asked for his blessing. Sakura frowned. _Can these people not see that this is not their rightful king? Are they so ignorant as to not know who is who?_

"Smile." She heard the usurper tell her. "They are here to see you…us and we have to leave a good impression, we want people to like us, rather than fear us. Love is more efficient than fear."

_Yes, I can see that._ She thought, resentful but she did what her husband-to-be told her and smiled, waving from time to time.

On the contrary of what her husband thought, she wasn't ignorant in the ways of ruling, the politics and the games involved. She was her father's heir and thus she had to learn how to take care of their estates, how to treat with nobles, with merchants, with peasants and how to please them in a way that they would do what she wanted them to do.

There were more and more people coming out of their houses into the streets, the curious who wanted to know what the fuss was all about.

By the time they reached the castle she was sore all over. Her thighs were sore and her back hurt, there were blisters forming in her hands from holding the reins all day and her cheeks hurt from all the fake smiling. It was a relief when two ladies of the court helped her off her horse and took her to her new rooms. Sakura was so sore she could barely walk so she leaned on the two ladies who were later joined by four more.

The walk to her rooms in court was all a blur. The pain was blinding her and all she could see was a bath a proper bed, something she had not had since she left home, twelve days ago for there were very few noble houses on the coast side who could host the King and his small army. There were barely any inns also and so, more often than not, they had to camp, something that Sakura was a stranger to and did not wish to repeat.

The King had apologized, every time they had to camp, for the lack of conditions, something that was almost gallant of him but Sakura could never call gallant to someone who deposed her dear Naruto.

The ladies helped her to get rid of her dirty riding clothes and, quicker than she thought possible, prepared her a warm, inviting bath. The bath was a big relief to her aching muscles. It numbed the pain to a tolerable tingle, it made her relax completely and, for the first time in many days, she felt at peace.

Sakura wished she could stay there forever but the water was getting cold, the skin on her hands and feet was already heavily wrinkled from the time the spent in the water and her new ladies were insisting that she got out of the bath. She felt very sleepy now, after the bath so she told her ladies to dress her with her nightgown for she wanted to go to bed.

"Do you want me to read you the holy book?" One of her new ladies asked. Sakura couldn't quite differentiate the yet. They all dressed the same and it seemed to her that they all looked the same. They all had the typical brown hair and eyes.

"No, let's just say our prayers."

Her new ladies all knelt around her and she led the prayer. Sakura only recited the essential, deciding that, being so tired as she was, she could fall asleep in the middle of the prayer.

She quickly got into her new bed, her ladies closing the bed's curtains and she was almost asleep, in that state where she is starting to dream but still half awake when a knock on the door woke her up and made her jump.

Sakura heard one of her ladies open the door and she forced herself to be very, very silent so that she could hear what she was saying.

"My lady is already sleeping, your grace. Do you want me to wake her?"

_The king is here? What does he want?_

"No, just tell her I want to speak to her in the morning. Goodnight."

She supposed she should get up now and pretend she hadn't heard the conversation but she was so tired she doubted she could get up now. She made herself comfortable in her feather bed and went to sleep.

_To Be Continued..._

* * *

Requested by Shakespearenarutostyle. I love you, sweetie and i hope you like it!

xoxo


	2. Chapter 2

**Note: **The soundtrack for this story is in my profile, if you want to listen to it while reading.

* * *

_My darkest thoughts they stick like glue_  
_Too many hours till the daytime comes_  
_And in the meantime I can watch_  
_Shadows dance on my bedroom wall_

- Human by The Cinematics

* * *

_The ocean opened in two and a hideous sea monster emerged from within. Andromeda shook with fear in the moment the beast's head emerged for as much as she had accepted her fate, she could not help but be frightened of such a beast._

_The huge, ugly monster moved slowly, something strange for a beast that had wings but the monster was not in a hurry, he knew the girl was his, always had been and always will be._

* * *

"…and the priest can be called anytime, as soon as you have everything ready. I will take care of the annulment of your betrothal and when that is done, we can get married." The king told her, walking back and forth, signing papers, reading papers, organizing the papers.

After she woke up and got ready for the day, the first thing she did was meet the king as he had requested the day before. Sakura didn't know the palace yet and so she had asked one of her new ladies to take her where the king was. She found him in the chancellor's room where he was overseeing the writing of the new laws and the reformation of some old ones.

"I also need you to write down what you need, dresses, shoes, whatever you need, so I can order the material for it." He said.

_He is so busy with all these papers._ Sakura felt sorry for him, so much to do, so little time. _I suppose I could help, I'm to be his wife, after all. _

Day by day, the hope that Naruto would come and rescue her diminished significantly, after all, how could he rescue her here? When she was inside the city, inside the castle, within the thick, tall walls of the capital where the usurpers army was stationed. How could he ever hope to win her back when the usurpers army was so huge and Naruto's…

Naruto had fled the kingdom, once he lost the last battle, taking with him the remains of his army which was about twenty men, give or take. Those who hadn't died in the battle, had changed sides and pledge allegiance to the new king.

Sakura hoped Naruto had managed to gather a bigger army, she hoped he would come rescue her and take back what was rightfully his but she knew that was very unlikely. This new king's rule was solid and everyone said he was invincible in battle.

"I can do that." Sakura said.

The Uchiha stopped suddenly and looked at her, eyebrows raised. "Can you?"

"Of course, I used to be in charge of these matters, back at home." She informed him but he still didn't look very convinced.

"Why would the duke and duchess put you in charge?" He asked, emphasizing the 'you'.

Sakura made an effort not to lash out at him. _He is the usurper, what were you expecting?_ She was already second doubting her decision to help him.

Sakura spoke sternly. "To teach me."

The man's eyes opened so much Sakura could swear they had doubled in size. "Yes, yes. Of course." He tapped his forehead. "You are his heir, of course. I'm sorry, I had forgotten."

Sakura wanted to tell him that no, she would not forgive him. She wanted to tell him that a real king would know these things, a real king wouldn't embarrass a lady of her status like that, Naruto would never embarrass her like that but his apology sounded so sincere and his eyes, his eyes that were looking right into her own and shone like two obsidian rocks. Those beautiful, beautiful eyes were begging her to forgive them so that she soon forgot all about the thoughts of embarrassing him and helplessly mutter 'it's alright'.

Sakura had never seen her future husband smile before but it's sight took her breath away. _He has such a beautiful smile._ She had to admit that the man was very good looking.

"I appreciate your help, very much. Thank you." Sakura found herself returning his smile.

"I can also take care of the wedding preparations, if you would like…"

He grabbed her hands, smiling. "If it's not too much for you, sweetheart, I would very much appreciate it."

Sakura blushed. She didn't understand what was happening with her, blushing, finding him attractive…that wasn't supposed to happen, she wasn't supposed to have these…these feelings. He wasn't supposed to make her feel nice or warm or make her heart race. Naruto never made her feel that way so how could this man do it with a simple smile?

Something in the way he looked at her made Sakura think he knew very well the effect he was having on her. He is doing this on purpose.

"Oh, one more thing, you should have many visitors today, the people at court are dying to meet you." The Uchiha winked at her, turning back to his papers after.

Lady Mikoto was waiting for her when she got to her rooms.

"My lady." Sakura greeted, bowing respectfully to the older woman.

The lady got up from her seat and walked towards her. "Hello, Sakura. May I call you Sakura?"

The lady Mikoto had a gentle face, motherly even but she was also very elegant, she walked gracefully, like a true lady.

"Of course, my lady."

They sat opposite each other. Sakura knew she was supposed to say something to the woman but she found herself unable to, she had no wish to be courteous to the usurper's mother.

"You know, I never had a daughter. God graced me with two beautiful, strong sons whom I love with all my heart but I wish I had a daughter." She said. "But now I have you."

Sakura had no idea what to say to her. "I…I have a mother."

_I have a mother? What am I thinking? Did I lose my wits suddenly?_ I have a mother was probably the worst thing she could have said.

Nonetheless the lady continues to smile warmly at her. "I know, but I will be your mother-in-law and you my daughter-in-law and I wish for us to have a good relationship."

The lady was so kind, it was hard for Sakura to refuse her. This was the mother of Naruto's enemy and therefore her enemy too and yet she could not bring herself to dislike the lady, she was so kind and warm, so sincere, so full of honesty.

_And we are to be family after all. _Before she could answer the older woman spoke again.

"I know, I know you and your family support Naruto and I know you don't like Sasuke yet, but you will. Sasuke may not be always the kindest but he is just and he is good."

"Naruto is good and kind too." Sakura gasped when she realized what she had said and covered her mouth as if she could take back what she had said.

_I shouldn't have said that._ Sakura had no idea what the woman would do now, this could be considered and offense, disrespect and even worse, treason and if she told the king, he would surely punish her.

The woman remained undisturbed. "Perhaps he was kind to you but he wasn't kind to the kingdom. All that happened, all the wars, all the pain, it was all because of him and his chaotic rule." She said. "You see, Naruto, as king, thought he could do everything he wanted. He would torture his prisoners and worst, he enjoyed it. Naruto wasn't just in his judgments for he would decide depending on his mood and he almost drove the kingdom to bankruptcy." Lady Mikoto's face had changed, the smile had disappeared and she became very serious.

_No, that can't be, that's not my Naruto._ Sakura couldn't believe the Naruto this woman was describing was the same Naruto she had known. He was always so kind and gallant with her, how could they be the same person.

"Perhaps he was good to you but he was the worst thing that ever happened to this kingdom, even his father wasn't as bad as him, god rest his poor soul." Lady Mikoto told her.

Sakura knew, from what her father had told her, that king Minato had been a bad king only because he was never present. After his wife's death his health became more and more fragile and he would often go into a state of comatose and, in the moments he was actually conscious, it was as if he wasn't present.

"So I believe my son will be a good king, not only because I'm his mother but because I know him, I know who he is."

The lady smiled, then, leaned forward in her chair and took her hands in hers. "I'll tell you a story, when Sasuke was about six, his brother, Itachi, got his first real sword, not the wooden swords they use in the beginning but the metal ones and Sasuke had been training with wooden swords for about a year now. You know how little brothers look up to their eldest and Sasuke was no different, Itachi was his hero and, obviously, Sasuke wanted to do everything Itachi did and so he insisted that he should, too, have a metal sword, like his brother. Obviously no one paid him any mind but Sasuke was persistent so one day he decides to steal Itachi's sword, to train with it."

Sakura gasped. "Steal it?"

The lady Mikoto nodded. "Do you know what happened after?"

"No, my lady."

"Well, the sword was too heavy for my little boy so he had to drag it outside. Sasuke managed to swing it against a tree but the sword got stuck and he couldn't release it. He got back home, all dirty, asking his brother to help him." She said, laughing.

"He really did that?" Sakura asked. The story about Sasuke was quite funny.

"He did, Sasuke was a very shifty little boy, he had many adventures or rather…misadventures."

Sakura laughed.

They spent the whole morning together. Mikoto was a delightful lady, she was very nice and funny and she loved to tell stories about little Sasuke.

Mikoto had just finished another of her stories when Sasuke walked in, he saw them both laughing and smiled, kneeling in front of his mother for her blessing.

"Mother, what are you telling Sakura?" He asked her.

The lady Mikoto laughed. "I am informing your future wife of your little misadventures."

"Mother…" The king moaned, blushing.

It was the first time Sakura had seen the king blush, it wasn't a furious blush that covered all his cheeks red, rather it was a light pink, barely visible.

_He looks adorable. _Sakura didn't know where that thought had come from, she had just found that the king looked even better blushing like that.

"But why have you interrupted us, Sasuke?" Lady Mikoto asked her son.

Sakura was quite surprised with the lack of formality between them. _For a royal family, they are quite warm and informal._

"I have come to ask my betrothed to dine with me." He said, extending his hand to Sakura to help her get up.

Sakura accepted his help but she was confused. "Privately? Not with the court in the great hall?"

"No, there are some people I would like to introduce to you, privately." He informed her. _They must be important people then, perhaps the treasurer or some important Lord he would like me to meet personally…or perhaps even a friend? _

"Have you broke your fast, mother?" His grace asked the Lady Mikoto.

"Not yet but I shan't go with you either. I'm off to see your father and brother." She sadly informed them.

Sakura noticed that her betrothed looked divided. He let go of her hand for a moment, before grabbing it again, more firmly this time.

"I want to go too." He admitted.

"No, you should go with your betrothed." Lady Mikoto told him but it sounded much more as a command.

Her betrothed didn't seem very happy with his mother's words._ If he wants to visit them, I suppose I could go too, they are going to me my family too._

"I want to go, too." Sakura said, surprising them. "Perhaps we could all dine together and after we could visit their graves."

The king's face lit up with delight. "Yes, that's a fantastic idea, thank you, sweetheart."

Her betrothed grabbed her face and kissed both her cheeks, a long, wet kiss that sent her heart racing.

Sakura blushed furiously. That was the most intimate contact she had with a man besides her father, even Naruto had only gone so far a kiss on the hand.

By the expression on his face, Sakura was sure he knew the effect he had on her. And just to make things even worse he kissed her one last time on her right cheek and laughed.

_Just to spite me I'm sure._ Sakura was sure she was as red as a tomato by now, from embarrassment and shyness and she was so, so hot…

* * *

Two of her ladies were tightening her corset while the other prepared her dress and headdress. Mother was walking around her chamber, giving instructions.

With each pull, it seemed that she could barely breath, her ladies were tightening her corset more than usual but this was her wedding day after all.

"Look at you." Her mother said. "You are going to get married."

Sakura was sure she saw tears in her mother's eyes. _My mother is always so dramatic._

"Mother, I have been betrothed since I was two years old." Sakura said, of course she was going to get married even though not to the same person.

"You are my only child." She moaned. "And now you're marrying the…"

_The usurper mother?_ In the weeks that had taken them to prepare the wedding and her coronation, Sakura had learned more about her family-to-be, had spent so much time with them she had learned to accept them, like them, even.

The lady Mikoto was kind and she had helped her to see how wrong she was about Naruto. Lady Mikoto had helped her realize that she was living under a fairytale where Naruto was the hero and Sasuke was the horrible monster but it couldn't have been farther from the truth.

"Leave us." She commanded her ladies. They hesitated and some even tried to protest but Sakura wanted to speak to her mother alone.

"You have to understand, mother, this is my family now, and yours too, by default and you can't keep calling my husband a usurper."

Sakura had gotten to know her betrothed and her opinion on him changed completely. The truth is, he wasn't always kind to other people but he was to her but most of the time he was playful. One time he had even said he liked to make her blush. _He can be most inappropriate at times._

"Sakura!" Her mother scolded her. "You can't be serious."

"I am very serious mother. You do know it's treason to say those things about the king? About his family?"

Sakura only wanted her mother to support her, to be on her side and, as queen, she couldn't have her own family calling her husband a usurper.

"Are you threatening me, girl? I'm your mother." She shouted.

"Don't shout mother, it's very unbecoming." Sakura said. "And no, I'm not threatening you, I'm simply informing you of the consequences of your words."

Sakura sat on her bed and motioned for her mother to sit next to her. "Sit here, next to me, mother."

Her mother reluctantly did what she asked and as soon as she sat down, Sakura grabbed her hands.

"I don't want to fight with you, mother but I need you to understand. Naruto is gone, he is not the king anymore, my husband is and frankly, he is a much better king than Naruto ever was."

Her mother smiled bitterly. "You are already calling him your husband but you are not married yet."

"We will be, in a few hours." What was the problem on starting early? "Mother, I need you, I need my family. You taught me that, remember? A queen needs to have powerful allies and who is more powerful than my family? Who can I trust most than in family?"

Mother sighed and Sakura knew she had won, she had convinced her mother. "You are right and I will stand behind you but I still don't like this…arrangement."

Sakura kissed her mother's cheek. "I know, we shall talk about it later."

* * *

The wedding was huge, hundreds and hundreds of people showed up to see the king get married. All the great lords had received a formal invitation but even those who hadn't had come. The whole city was there.

The lords all had their place inside the church, sitting in order of importance. The most powerful would seat in the front rows, right after the bride and groom's families and the least powerful would seat in the back but the church was crowded, there were many people standing and many, many more had to remain outside for there wasn't enough room inside.

The wedding was a long and boring affair. Sakura's feet were starting to hurt from the many hours standing, listening to the priest. Her corset was so tight she could barely breath and besides it was causing her back pains, along with the dress that was so, so heavy. Sakura could swear that the dress weighted as much as her or, at least, that was what it felt like.

In spite of the pain she felt, Sakura could not help but be exited. This was the moment of her life, this was what she had been born for, the only thing left was to give birth to a son and her duty as a woman would be complete.

After the wedding ceremony, they, now officially man and wife, threw a great feast, in the great hall to celebrate.

Sakura, with the help of the Lady Mikoto, had managed to find the best musicians, poets, jesters and mummers for entertainment.

They had also planned what would be served to the guests. The main courses were duck with cherries and lemon, suckling pig in plum sauce, ham with mushrooms, honey, and dried cherries, rabbit with chestnuts and spices, hen stuffed with carrots, chestnuts, and prunes and trout baked in clay with potatoes and corn. Sakura tasted them all but only a little bit, she didn't want to stuff herself for her favorite course was still to come. She also made sure to send the best courses to the most important lords. A small sympathy that could win them a friend.

They also had smaller dishes coming regularly, consisting mainly on soups and bread. Sakura's favorites were shrimp with persimmon soup and shrimp spiced with honey. She sent those to her and Sasuke's family.

There were many drinks circulating and being served. The men drank mostly red wine and beer but Sakura herself preferred the plum wine for it is a quite light wine with an incredibly intense flavor.

The cooks also made many dessert courses. Hundreds of pies of different flavors were served, Pease pie, pigeon pie, strawberry pie and the most popular of the night, the venison pie.

In between courses they would dance or watch the jesters, they would listen to the poets or watch the mummers perform.

Sakura was found, more often than not, dancing with her husband. He was a very good and enthusiastic dancer and with some beers down his throat, he wanted to do nothing but dance. Her husband hadn't abused his drinks but he did had a few and they had made him…happier than usual.

They took her upstairs while the feast was still going on downstairs. Her marriage had to be consummated and the priest was already waiting. Her ladies were quick on getting her out of her complicated wedding dress. Layers upon layers of fabric of silk. Her nightgown, however, was much more simple, a single layer of white cotton that her ladies helped her get into.

Her ladies moved to a corner when the priest approached her to bless her. They would stand witness to the consummation act, them and the men the king would be bringing.

The king entered the room followed by three men who helped him out of his robe. He had already changed to his nightgown in his own chambers.

"Leave." He said after they all moved to the bed to prepare it. "There will be no need for witnesses."

Sakura had to control a giggle when she saw their shocked faces. Her husband winked.

"But…your grace, this is highly uncommon besides, the witnesses are an important part for the validation of the wedding." The priest complained.

"I understand it's important when you have two unwilling or very young people but I don't see the purpose here." He said. "And I don't like people watching me while I have sex, believe me, I have tried."

Her ladies all gave a collective shocked gasp, bringing their hands to their mouths while the men remained impassive as ever, as if he hadn't said anything at all.

The priest looked as if he was about to drown with his mouth hanging open and strange sounds coming out of his mouth. Even Sakura blushed, they weren't words she was used to hearing. _Oh my, those are not words a man like him should utter, not in the presence of ladies, at least._

"Leave, now." Sasuke repeated.

The men were the first to leave, immediately after the King had commanded it, followed by her ladies who were so shocked and so red, they almost looked as if they wanted to be swallowed by the ground. The priest was the one who took more time in leaving, apparently still shocked but after the king raised his eyebrows at him, he left with the tail between his legs.

The moment they were gone, Sasuke exploded in laughter.

"Why did you send them away?" Sakura asked, she was genuinely curious as to why he had done that, that had been such a strange behavior.

Sasuke smiled at her and grabbed her chin, for her to look at him. "This is our night, not anybody else's." He said, his thumbs caressing her chin. "And I want you to be comfortable."

_He's worried for me? That is so nice of him._ His words warmed her heart and put a smiled on her face.

"Thank you."

Sasuke brought her face closer and kissed her softly, his moist lips gliding over hers. Sakura's face turned red when she remembered his words from earlier. _Will he mind me asking? _She truly hoped not.

"Do you…hum…did you…" Sakura had no idea how to ask him. "Did you…did you, you know…had…people watching?" She whispered to him.

He laughed again. "No, not that but didn't you love their faces when I said it?"Sasuke said. "Come, let's go to bed."

Sasuke grabbed her hand and pushed her towards the bed and pushing the bed sheets back, he helped her lay down on the bed.

Instead of laying on top of her like she expected him to, he laid next to her, tuning sideways to face her. _What is he doing? Is this supposed to happen?_

"Are you scared?" Sasuke asked, caressing her face.

_What am I supposed to say?_ Sakura opted to tell him the truth, it was not like he didn't know already or else he wouldn't have asked.

"Yes." She admitted.

"I don't want you to be." He whispered. "We have to do this, there is no way to avoid it but I promise I will be gentle and to make you enjoy it, alright?"

Sakura nodded and he climbed on top of her, kissing her, slowly at first. He spread soft kisses on her cheeks, on her ear and on her neck, only stopping when her reached the barrier that her nightgown represented.

_I like his kisses, they make me…hot._

Sasuke's hands moved from her waist to her breasts, playing with them over the fabric. His hands then grabbed the end of her nightgown, pushing it up and, making her sit up, he pulled it over his head, pulling his off right after.

_I thought we weren't supposed to take off our nightclothes_…Sakura wasn't about to question him about that but everything she had heard about it was always done with the nightclothes on.

Sasuke touched all of her body, from her feet to her head, there wasn't a spot of skin he hadn't kissed, hadn't fondled. His touch made her hot, almost like she had a fever but not quite, his touch made her moan with pleasure and it seemed to be one of the best things she had ever felt.

"Seems like you are ready." Sasuke said when his hand touched her private parts and then he entered her.

_To Be Continued..._


	3. Chapter 3

_These clouds we're seeing_

_They're explosions in the sky_

_Dry your eye_

_Soulmate dry your eye_

_Cause soulmates never die_

_- _Sleeping With Ghosts by Placebo

* * *

_Andromeda looked up the darkening sky, the monster brought about misery even to the sky. The monster was wrapped around the rock the girl was chained to like a snake, his mouth open wide, ready to swallow the young girl. Then a flash of blinding light cut through the sky making the monster scream and withdraw into a darker place._

_Perseus was wandering about the skies when he saw the naked girl and the sea monster. He noticed the sea monster recoiled from light and he took advantage of that. Perseus dived down and untied the naked girl, he wasn't about to let a maiden be eaten by this beast. He assured her he was there to help her and covered the girl- Andromeda, he had learned- with his cape._

_But the sea monster had not given up, the girl was his and he would have her._

* * *

"We have got an invitation, from Lord Orochimaru, he would like us to visit him. What do you think?" Sasuke asks her during supper.

"I think it couldn't have come in a better time, I heard the plague has broken out in the city so it would be a good time to leave." Sakura answered him, stabbing a little bit of lamb and salad with her fork and bringing it to her mouth.

The cooks had prepared lamb seasoned with red wine and a salad of raisins, cheese, eggs and green beans that she had ordered to be brought to her chambers. Sakura had then invited her husband to supper with her.

Her husband nodded, satisfied with her answer. "Besides it will be good for the common people to see us and, if you don't mind, I'll leave the preparations to you, sweetheart."

"Of course." Sakura was glad her husband was relying on her to help him.

Suddenly Sasuke dropped his fork and knife, got up from his seat and, turning her chair away from the table, knelt in front of her.

_What is he doing? _Sakura's confusion dissipated when her husband's hands slid underneath her dress, caressing her thighs over her stockings.

"Sasuke, don't be inappropriate." Sakura scolded her husband. They were at supper for god's sake!

Sasuke smirked at her and raised her dresses' skirts up, exposing her stocking covered legs.

"We are alone, dear." He said, pushing her stockings down.

Her husband kissed the inside of her thighs and Sakura threw her head back in pleasure.

* * *

Sakura's first impression of Lord Orochimaru was that he was nothing like she had imagined him. He looked young for his age and yet he looked very old, he was a strange mixture of both that made him look very, very creepy.

Lord Orochimaru was always very nice, always smiling and very accommodating but there was something about him that made it impossible for Sakura to trust him as her husband did.

_Perhaps this is just because find him ugly, perhaps I'm just being judgmental._ Sakura had to make an effort to like the man, he was, after all, one of her husband's greatest supporters besides being a great friend of his family.

Lord Orochimaru had thrown a great feast for them on his castle. Sasuke occupied the center of the table and Lord Orochimaru sat at his left while Sakura sat at her husband's right side.

The servants deposited a tray with goat and peas, shrimp, sweet grass and honey on their table and Lord Orochimaru, after her husband's permission, was the first to serve himself, grabbing, with his bare hands, a bunch of peas which he tasted and then put them again on the tray. He did the same with the shrimp.

_How disgusting. Are all men like this with each other? _

Sasuke was laughing and when Sakura saw he was about to reach for the food, she poked him and mouthed a 'don't eat that'.

Sasuke denied with his head and smiled at her but did what she asked him all the same.

Lord Orochimaru seemed nervous, uncomfortable, he kept looking around the room, to the people that had come with them, especially the guards. Sakura had caught him staring at the guards several times already.

_What is wrong with him? Is he uncomfortable about having this many people in his home? Surely that cannot be, a man of his status is used to such things, perhaps he is just shy?_

Sakura wasn't sure what was wrong with the man but it seemed to her, the more time passed, the more nervous he became.

She was about to ask him what was wrong when they heard shouting coming from the outside.

"Sasuke! Sasuke Uchiha, come to die!" Naruto burst into the room, shouting with a few armed men behind him, some of which Sakura recognized as Lord Orochimaru's.

In a second every man in the room was on their feet and had drawn their swords, ready to protect their king.

_Naruto? What is he doing here?_ Sakura had convinced herself she would never see him again and now that she was married, now that she was queen, she wanted nothing but for him to stay away. Sakura did not wish for his death, she was still very fond of Naruto despite what she now knew about him but she did not wish for his presence either. Naruto was a threat to her, to her husband and to her future children. _What was he thinking? He has no chance of winning so why did he come?_

Sasuke raised his hand, silently telling the men they should standby until he told them otherwise and walked towards Naruto, he seemed amused.

"And what are the charges laid against me?" Sasuke asked him, mockingly but Naruto took it very seriously.

"You stole my throne, you stole my fiancé." He said, looking towards her and in that moment Sakura realized all Lady Mikoto had told her was true, all she saw in his eyes was hate and rage, there was no love, no kindness, no light, only darkness.

"You should be careful to how you address your King and Queen." Sasuke warned him.

"I'm the rightful King and I'm here to take back what is rightfully mine, to do justice!" Naruto shouted.

Sasuke raised his eyebrows at him. "How do you intend to do that? You are surrounded."

Sasuke pointed towards the men next to the tables with their swords ready and Sakura saw Naruto visibly pale. _Did he think we wouldn't bring guards with us? Did he think the court wouldn't accompany us?_

Sakura saw Naruto look at Orochimaru who nodded and made a hand sign to one of his knights. _They are working together._ She realized. _I have to warn Sasuke._

Naruto suddenly charged at Sasuke who, being disarmed couldn't retaliate but he was quick enough to escape and get his own sword.

The fight broke out in Lord Orochimaru's hall and, in the midst of the confusion, she lost track of where Naruto was. _He won't be getting out of here anyway. _Some of Orochimaru's knights were still undecided about which side they should take and Naruto had a very small army compared to her husband's.

Sakura looked around the room for Lord Orochimaru and saw him trying to slip out unnoticed.

"Don't let him leave!" She shouted to the knights but they did not heard her in the midst of the fight, besides they could not turn their backs on their opponents.

_I have to do something, I can't let him leave._ Sakura quickly grabbed the dagger Sasuke had left in the table and ran towards the fleeing man.

His back was turned so he did not see or hear her arrive. With trembling hands Sakura pressed the dagger into his back.

"Do not take another step, my lord." Sakura ordered him.

He turned his head back, to look at her and he was smiling. Sakura caught the glint of something. _It's his sword, he's going to unsheathe his sword. He is going to kill me._ Sakura had the dagger at his throat faster than she would have thought possible.

"Stop or I will run you through." She had reacted on pure instinct, if she didn't defend herself, he would kill her.

Sakura felt as if she was about to cry, she was so, so afraid. She willed herself to stay calm. _You are a queen now and you have to act like one. _Truthfully Sakura was terrified of what he could do, she was but a woman and he was a trained warrior, she feared he could easily overpower her.

"The queen!" She heard someone shout behind her. _The noticed us, they will come soon._

"Your grace." She heard another knight call her, much closer this time but she dared not look away from Orochimaru.

"Drop your sword." Sir Kiba told him.

The man unsheathed his sword and for a moment she was afraid that he meant to cut her down but his grip loosened and he let his sword fall onto the wooden floor. Sakura sighed of relief and only then she allowed her gaze to leave the creepy looking man.

They were surrounded by five knights, sir Kiba included, all with unsheathed swords, all swords pointing towards Orochimaru. _Why aren't they moving? Why aren't they restraining him?_ Sakura turned to look at the man again and she realized that she was still holding the dagger to his throat, she backed off slowly and nodded at sir Kiba. Letting the boys take over she looked around to analyze the situation. The room was a total mess, everything was broken or on the floor or turned over and there were so many dead bodies that Sakura felt sick. _There's so much blood, so much…_

All she wanted to do was cry, close her eyes, go back home and cry. This macabre scene was something she had never come across before, she had never seen true battles before, never seen a man die in front of her.

Sakura took several deep breaths to calm herself, fighting the urge to cry.

"Where is the king?" She asked one of the knights once she noticed her husband's absence.

"The king took a small party and went after Naruto." He answered her.

Sakura was surprised Naruto was able to escape but she thanked the knight and let him go back to cleaning the blood out of his sword.

The ladies were all together in a corner, too afraid to approach the men. Sakura called them and a bunch of knights so they could gather their things and get the horses ready.

"We will leave now, when the king arrives tell him we went to the Duke's house." Sakura told ser Kiba, father's house wasn't far from here and she would rather be in a familiar place than in a strange house with strange people."You will stay here with a small group of men and wait for the king."

Sir Kiba nodded and then pointed towards Orochimaru. "What do you want done with him, your grace?"

"I suppose he should stay here, the king will decide what do with him." Sakura told him.

* * *

The white tea warmed her hands, even though they were in the middle of summer, she felt very cold.

Her parents had been very happy to see her and had instantly started preparing her and her party's stay in their property.

Mother had told her she could stay in her old rooms and had ordered the cooks to make some tea for her. Sakura had told her mother what had happened and how sick she felt, her mother had told her to drink her tea and rest.

Sakura looked up when she heard the door open and saw Sasuke enter the room. He kissed her cheek in greeting and pushed a chair to sit beside her.

"I know what you did." He said, smiling. "You were very brave."

Sakura laughed but then all the tears she had been repressing started falling down and she was sobbing uncontrollably.

"Oh ,no, sweetheart." Sasuke said and knelt in front of her, taking her hands in his and kissing them. "You were so brave, so strong, sweetheart."

"Oh, Sasuke!" She moaned, crying and launched herself in to his arms, snuggling into his chest.

They stayed there, kneeling on the floor, her crying on his chest until she was calmer.

"Better?" Sasuke asked, wiping her tears.

Sakura nodded in agreement. "I'm sorry." She whispered, embarrassed. _I can't believe I made a scene in front of my husband. A lady isn't supposed to do that, a queen isn't supposed to do that._

"Don't be, it must have been very upsetting for you, to see all that." He whispered back, caressing her face. "And you…you handled it so well, you were so brave, sweetheart. I am very proud of you."

Shyly she placed her hands on his face and brought it forward to kiss him. Her kiss was soft and shy and slow and sweet, to show him how grateful she was to him for enduring her endless crying.

_I have a perfect husband, he is strong, powerful, sweet and very understanding._ Sasuke started kissing her more passionately, his hands caressing her body, massaging her breasts.

"I want to take you now." He said. "Will you let me?"

Sakura nodded and he carried her to the bed.

* * *

"Were you able to catch Naruto?" Sakura asks her husband, her voice muffled by the pillow. They are both lying in her old bed, in her father's castle, Sakura lying face down and Sasuke sideways, tracing random patterns on her bare back.

Sasuke's hand stilled on her back and he hesitated before answering. "We…we were not able to catch him."

_Not able to catch him…what does that mean?_ How had Naruto managed to escape?

"He...managed to cross the border and leave the country. I could not afford to send troops after him outside the country." Sasuke said.

_He escaped, Naruto escaped, that means he might…_

"What if he comes back?"Sakura asked. "What happens then?"

Sasuke's hand, which until now had been still, moved again, up and down her back.

"It makes no matter." He answered dismissively, depositing gentle kisses on her shoulder. "Even if he comes back, he has no strength."

Sasuke shifted, straddling her as his hands started traveling downwards, caressing her hips and then back up, sliding underneath her to cup her breasts.

Sakura felt his erection dig into her backside when he lowered himself to place open mouthed kisses all over his back.

"Again?" She asked, half moaning. They had just made love a few moments ago!

"Again." He answered, bringing his member towards her entrance.

* * *

"I wish you would reconsider coming with us." Sakura whispered to her father. "You know, I could just command you to come."

Her father smiled. "I know but I want to stay, dear."

Sakura sighed, her father could be very stubborn when he wanted to be. "Can I ask you a favor father? I know Sasuke doesn't want to bother you with this but I would sleep better if you did."

"Is this about the border?"

Sakura nodded. "Could you send some of your men there? Sasuke thinks if he placed his own knights on the border that would make people believe he was more of a threat than he actually is, he doesn't believe he'd be foolish enough to come back but I…"

Sakura might have only know a part of him but she knew how impulsive he was and he was nothing but determined and that could be a bad combination.

"I will see what I can do, dear." Father reassured her.

"Thank you, papa." Sakura thanked him, kissing his cheek.

* * *

Sakura woke in a sweat with bile rising in her throat. A strong wave of nausea assaulted her and she only had time to run towards the privy and empty the contents of her stomach.

When she was finished, one of her ladies handed her a wet cloth to clean her mouth with and helped her walk back towards the bedchamber. Sakura felt physically exhausted by all this vomiting and her throat hurt badly.

Her husband was up and waiting for her in the bedchamber. All this noise must have woke him.

"Again? Sakura I am going to c-" Sasuke started but was interrupted by her maid.

"When was the last time you bled, your grace?" The woman, Kisha? Kyra? Sakura was not sure, asked her.

When was the last time she had bled? Sakura was not sure. She had not bled during the stay with her parents nor during the journey to Lord Orochimaru's castle, the last time she had bled had been almost a fortnight before that.

"A while…" She answered vaguely, resting her hand in her flat belly. _Not for long…_

The woman nodded and instructed her to lay down on the bed, knees up and legs open wide. Sakura did as instructed and the older woman pushed her nightgown up and started to feel her private parts, going as far inserting her fingers inside her.

"I think it is safe to say her grace is with child." She said to her husband after she finished.

Sasuke's eyes were wide, shining with wonder and hope. "You are with child?" Sasuke asked her and Sakura nodded, smiling, bringing his hand to join hers on her belly.

Sasuke's eyes seemed like they were glued to that particular part of her body and Sakura saw a smile that mirrored her own erupt in his face.

"We shall have a great feast to celebrate." He whispered.

"Now?" Sakura asked, laughing.

Her husband finally took his eyes of her belly and looked at her with a mischievous smile of his face. "No, not now but soon."

Sasuke knelt in front of her and kissed her belly.

* * *

Sakura's hands fumbled blindly around the bed, looking for her husband. She had just woken up and hadn't even opened her eyes but she did not feel the warmth of her husband next to her. She found no husband nor warmth and snuggled more into the bed. _He must have already left._ Sakura brought her hand back, to rest next to her body and she felt something wet. _Wet?_

She sat up on the bed, throwing the covers back, looking for the source of the wetness she had felt in her hand and she saw a pool of blood staining the white sheets and her nightgown. _Blood? Oh my god, the baby!_

Sakura didn't know what else to do so she started screaming for help and some of her ladies quickly rushed out of her bedchamber to call a physician while others stayed to her, trying to calm her.

_My baby! Please god, don't take my baby!_

* * *

Sakura paced back and forth outside the audience chamber her husband was currently occupying. _How am I going to tell him? What am I going to say?_ She was so very afraid of her husband's reaction and she truly wished he would not be angry with her.

The physician had arrived rather quickly and had done a throughout examination on her and had declared that there was nothing wrong with her and Sakura had sighed in relief, she thought she had lost her baby but the man asked for a private talk with her, telling her a piece of news she didn't want to hear.

_What am I going to do now? Will he understand? _

The doors opened and Sakura stepped aside to let the noblemen pass through. Each and every one of them greeted her with a bow and while some left as soon as that, others remained behind, talking about this and that.

Sakura nodded to the man talking to her, pretending she understood what he was saying, pretending to be listening but she wasn't truly paying attention, her head was too clouded and she anxiously awaited the moment her husband passed through that door.

"Excuse me, my lord but I must speak with the king." She told the man whose name she could not recall, one of the minor lords that had arrived recently.

"Of course, your grace." He said, kissing the ring on her hand.

Her husband was entertained, talking with the chamberlain and did not notice her arrival.

"Excuse me." She interrupted and the man promptly greeted her.

"Your grace."

"Hello, sweetheart." Her husband greeted, kissing her cheek.

"We must speak." She said, grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the audience chamber again. "Excuse us, my lord."

"So, what is it?" Sasuke asked.

_How could she tell him this? What was the best way to explain?_

"I'm…I'm bleeding." She mumbled, hoping he would understand.

Sakura saw his eyes widen with fear. "The baby?" Sasuke whispered, almost breathless.

She shook her head no. "There…there is no baby."

"The baby is gone?" He asked and Sakura shook her head again.

"There…there wasn't…there never was a baby."

A strange, awkward silence engulfed them, neither knew what to say. Sasuke was the first to break it.

"Oh." He said. "You're bleeding?"

Sakura nodded, biting her lip to repress the tears from falling.

"Well…I'm…" Sasuke started but he, like her didn't seem to have words. "I don't quite know what to say."

"I'm sorry." Sakura said.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, confused. "For what, sweetheart?"

"All of this mess." She whispered. She was so ashamed, how could this all have happened?

Sasuke grabbed her chin and made her look at him. "You don't have to apologize for something that is not your fault." He assured her. "Did you see a physician?"

"Yes."

"And he was the one who told you there was no baby?" Sasuke didn't seem angry or upset but she wasn't sure if he was hiding it for her sake. Her husband had the bad habit of hiding bad things from her as to not upset her, an habit that only gotten worse with the baby news. _But there was no baby, ever._

"Yes."

"Okay." He said.

Sakura was confused. "Okay? That's it?"

"What do you want me to say?" He seemed as confused as she was.

_I want you to tell me what you think, what you want, what you need. I need you to tell me how you feel._

"I don't know, aren't you sad?" She asked.

Sasuke shrugged. "Not really, I mean, I am sad that there is no baby but there is no need to mourn something that never existed."

"But…" She started but stopped herself, did he not feel the same as she did?

"Hey." He called her attention when he saw her expression. "You can cry, alright? You can mourn, if you want, it is not going to me be to tell you what to feel but we are going to have babies, lots of babies and there is no need to be sad that there isn't one here yet."

How come this man understood her so well? He truly was the best husband a woman could wish for.

Sakura smiled for him and hugged him tight, silently thanking him for his support and for his understanding. She felt his hand slip beneath her skirts to caress her bare thigh.

"How about we make one right now?" He whispered seductively in her ear while pushing her up to sit on the edge on the table.

She pushed him away. "Sasuke, I'm bleeding, we cannot."

He pouted but let her climb off the table.

* * *

_A year._ She thought. _It's been a year._

The bedchamber door was opened and Kyra stepped through it, holding in her hands a brown bag which she gave to Sakura.

"Here's what you asked, your grace."

Sakura sat on the chair in front of the small, rounded table next to the door and there deposited the small brown bag, putting her fingers inside it and pulling it outward so it would open.

_I hope this works, this has to work._

"Bring me water, please." She asked her maid, going through the instructions that had been give to her, pour four spoonfuls into the warm water, stir well, until all the grains dissolve and drink just like tea but before the woman could move, the door opened again and Sasuke stepped through it, stopping when he saw the brown bag.

_Oh no, please, no. _Sakura couldn't believe this, her husband just had to arrive at the most inappropriate moment.

"What is that?" He asked, eyeing the yellowish brown grains inside the bag.

Sakura hesitated, she really didn't want to tell him but she couldn't lie to him either. "It's…bee pollen."

"For?" He insisted, stepping towards the table.

"Fertility." Sakura confessed, embarrassed. There was no need for him to know about this, this was not a man's concern and Sakura knew her husband would be mad at her.

Sasuke grabbed the dark brown bag and eyed it for a while then pushed the two outer strings, closing the bag and gave it to Kyra.

"Get rid of it." He told her and the woman quickly retired the chambers, leaving them both alone.

Sakura wanted to stop her, to tell Sasuke not to do this but she dared not, she was much too afraid that her husband was mad and her.

"Why are you doing this?" He asked her, pushing a chair to sit across from her.

"It's been two years, Sasuke. Two years since we got married and still no children."

Tears pooled in her eyes, why couldn't she conceive? What was wrong with her? She knew it wasn't for the lack of trying, far from that actually, apart from the forbidden days, her husband rarely left her bed, he even slept in it so what was the problem?

"Sakura…" He sounded angry. Sakura was sure he would be but how could he be mad when the only thing she wanted was a child to hold in her arms? Didn't he wished for the same? Didn't he wished for an heir?

"Are you angry with me?" She asked.

Sasuke closed his eyes, sighing and rested his forehead on his palm. "No, I am not angry with you, I'm just…I don't understand why you are doing this."

"What if we don't have children? You need an heir, Sasuke and I…I…" _I want children, I want a son to carry on the dynasty, to be the living image of his father. I want a daughter to hold and to play._

Sasuke reached across the table and grabbed her hand. "Sakura we are both young, we have plenty of time to have children, there is no need to rush things and there is no need for you to resort to such thing. We will have children, many, many children, you will see."

Sakura smiled. Her husband was always so good at making her insecurities disappear, always so good to her…

"Thank you." She said, squeezing his hand. "You are the best husband a woman could wish for."

Sasuke got up from his seat and walked over to her, he grabbed her face and placed a oft, wet kiss on her lips.

"Come, your mother is waiting for you." He stretched his hand to help her get up.

"My mother? They are here?" She asked.

Sasuke nodded.

* * *

"I have some rather disturbing news I wish to discuss with you, dear." Father led her towards the open window of her bedchamber, leaving mother and Sasuke talking animatedly.

"Has something happened, papa?" Sakura asked worriedly.

"It seems Naruto has married Hyuuga Hinata." Father whispered. "How he managed to pass the border, I do not know."

_Naruto married Hinata? Sweet and shy Hinata?_ How was that possible and how did he manage to get into the country? He must have had help, surely. _Hyuuga help._

"I don't understand, how could the Hyuugas have done this?" She asked, she truly believed the Hyuugas were on their side but now…

"The Hyuugas always strived for power and saw this as an opportunity." Father said. "But don't you worry, dear. Even if they rebel, we can easily take them."

"Have you told Sasuke, papa? " Surely her husband wouldn't keep this from her, would he?

"No, I wanted to tell you first." He answered.

"Don't worry, I will tell him." The winter air was chilling Sakura and she turned around to go close the window when a wave of dizziness hit her, making her loose her balance. Father had to grab her by the shoulders to steady her.

"Never mind that, this news has obviously unsettled you, I'll talk to the king myself."

"No need, I'm just a little dizzy, I'll be better in a moment." She said. There was nothing for papa to worry about.

"I think you need to lay down, dear." He said.

"Papa, really, there is no need to worry, I am perfectly alright."

* * *

Despite the huge fire burning in the blue and grey fireplace and all the candles burning inside the room, Sakura still felt cold. They were right in the middle of winter where the days grew colder and colder and the snows started to fall. _I will have to tell my ladies to lay an extra blanket on the bed tonight. _She had noticed how the skies were today and there was sure to be a heavy snowstorm tonight.

"What will you do?" Sakura asked her husband. She had just informed him on the news of Naruto and Hinata's marriage.

"Nothing yet, I need to find out where he is first." He said, cutting a piece of the still warm bread and bringing it to his mouth.

"He must be with the Hyuugas, surely?" She asked, chewing on a piece of honeyed lamb.

"It is likely but we are not sure and I cannot just storm in on them, accusing them of treason." He answered. "I will just wait and see what their next move is."

Sakura nodded, and picked up one of the quails eggs she had asked the cooks to prepare for her. These last days she had been craving tomatoes and quails eggs desperately, something she had never experienced before.

* * *

"Sakura." Her husband tried to call, his voice hoarse and low from the fever. He was all covered in sweat, red from the fever but shivering despite all the blankets covering him. "Sakura." He tried again.

"Shh." She tried to calm him, taking away the previously wet cloth that had warmed up in his forehead. "Shh, you foolish man. Just rest."

Sakura dipped the cloth in the water once again, squeezing it to take away the excess water and placed it back on his forehead. She grabbed another cloth, dry this time and cleaned away the sweat from his face, neck and the little chest the open nightgown exposed.

"Sakura." Sasuke somehow found enough strength to grab her hand. His eyes were glassy and unfocused and he was so, so weak. It saddened Sakura to see her husband in such a fragile state.

"Shh, my love, you should be resting." She told him, caressing his raven locks. "You foolish man, I told you not to go, I told you but you are so stubborn." Sakura took the cloth of his forehead once again and wet it.

"You foolish man, I told you not to go on that hunt." She placed the now cold cloth on his forehead once again. "How could you even think of going hunting with this weather? But no, you had to be your stubborn self and go and now look at you."

Sasuke grunted something Sakura could not understand but she did not mind, she was right and he would have to listen to her. _Foolish, foolish man._

"And now I have to look after you." She complained as if this was a big burden to her but in truth she had not let anyone else but the physician take care of her husband.

"No one asked you to." He muttered, playfully. "There are plenty of servants in the castle, you know?"

_Even in this state he can be playful_. "As if I would let anyone else take care of my beloved husband."

"Beloved?"

Sakura nodded. "Very much beloved."

"I thought you were mad at me for going on that hunt." Sasuke made a move to sit in the bed but Sakura pushed him back down.

"I am and you should be resting." She said, getting up to arrange to covers around him.

"Don't leave." He asked.

"Of course not." The fire burning in the fireplace was dying down, she had to call a servant to bring more firewood but she would sit with her husband until he fell asleep.

_To Be Continued..._


	4. Chapter 4

_I ran away in floods of shame_

_I'll never tell how close I came_

_As I cross the holland road_

_You went left and I went right_

-Home by Mumford & Sons

* * *

_The sea monster took advantage of the fact Perseus was worried about the girl and thus distracted, to charge against him, sending him flying into the rough sand of the beach._

_Perseus summoned his sword and quickly mounted Pegasus, he wanted to lead the sea monster away from the shore and away from Andromeda, he had to get him away from the girl, Perseus could not allow Andromeda to come to harm._

* * *

A dragging sound made her wake up. _I was having such a nice dream, beautiful black haired, green eyed children._

As Sakura looked around she noticed the servants moving and dragging things around, clothes, chests, bags…

Her husband was standing by the foot of the bed, being helped by a servant into one of his old, dark green and brown doublet, the one he wore when he went ridding.

"What happened?" She asked him, sitting on the bed.

Sasuke turned around, startled by her voice and quickly dismissed the boy helping him and came to her side, depositing a soft, good morning kiss on her dried lips.

"I am sorry for waking you but I must leave." He said, "Naruto has made his move, we must intercept him."

_Intercept him…that means there is going to be a battle isn't it?_ Sakura didn't want to think of her husband fighting, she knew he was strong and very skilled but she would rather have him in the safety of their castle, inside their city and their walls.

"Where will you go?" She asked, grabbing the collar of his chemise that was showing beneath the open doublet and pulling him down to lay beside her.

"We were informed that Naruto was just outside the Hyuugas property, going north so we shall intercept him somewhere within Orochimaru's old lands." Sasuke replied while she undid the strings holding his chemise closed to kiss his neck and chest.

"When will you be back?" She had managed to remove the doublet completely off her husband and now was trying to take his chemise off too. _A very hard job since he is lying on his back and not helping at all._

Sasuke shifted them so that she was the one lying on her back and her on top. "It shouldn't take more than a week, two at most."

"Then we must compensate for the time you will be away." She said, taking off his shirt while his hands slid up her legs, pushing her nightgown up.

"We must indeed." As his head descended to kiss her, a thought invaded her head and she was not able to get rid of it, she had to ask.

"You will be careful, won't you? You won't lose?" She asked.

Sasuke smiled at her, confident. "Sakura, I never lose."

* * *

And so she waited, for three long days she waited for news, for a letter, a messenger, anything that would tell her what was happening, where they were… on the third day one of her father's men arrived with his letter saying they were less than a day from Naruto and the Hyuugas and they were sure to come home soon.

And so she waited, three days turned into five, five turned into a week and a week turned into two without even the littlest piece of news to console her.

Sakura's hands moved to her stomach._ I have to tell him, he has to come soon. He needs to come soon. _

Sakura looked up and was met with her mother's questioning gaze. She knew her mother was worried too and so she did what she could to appease her, she didn't want her mother to worry that much, she wasn't exactly getting younger and she just seemed to exhausted lately…

"Is something wrong with the baby? Are you feeling any pain?" Her mother asked, clearly concerned for her daughter and grandchild's health.

"No, mother. Everything is fine."

Three quick knock at the door resounded in the room and moments later Kyra's head emerged from behind the brown wooden door.

"Your grace, there is a messenger here to see you." She said.

A messenger. Sakura's heart was racing so fast she was sure her mother could hear it. She quickly got up and composed herself a little and then sent Kyra to send the man in.

The man was disheveled, dirty and seemed to be out of breath. He took his brown hat off and went on his knees in front of her.

"Your grace, we must leave the city immediately." He informed.

_Leave? What happened? My god, is my husband dead?_ There were so many thoughts running through Sakura's head that she was having a hard time speaking.

"Tell me what happened, why must we leave?" She asked, trying to keep herself as calm as possible.

"It was a trap, Your grace. They attacked us and we were outnumbered. The King managed to escape with a few men and is heading north. I was sent to take your grace to safety, Naruto's army is coming here, now, to take the city."

_He lost, Sasuke lost. He told me he never loses and now he lost and is running._

"He cannot take the city, surely, he doesn't have that kind of power." _He couldn't have, how could he? _But the look on the man's face told her everything she needed to know.

"And my husband, he is heading north? Where, exactly?" She needed to know where her husband was to go find him, help him. The man did not speak, he seemed hesitant to answer her question. "Oh, for god's sake, man, answer!"

"I…I do not know for sure, your grace, his grace only told me he was going outside."

_Outside? As in out of the country? _No, that could not be it. "By outside you mean out of the country?" Sakura asked him, fearfully.

The man nodded and Sakura felt like a rock had fallen in to her heart and crushed it. _No, it cannot be, he cannot be running. If he is running then he cannot fight Naruto, he cannot…Oh god, what will be of him, of me, of all of us? Our cause cannot be lost surely, he will come back, he must come back. He will and he will win and everything will be alright again._

Sakura wanted nothing more than to believe her own words but was finding that very, very difficult at the moment.

"And my lord father? Is he with the king too?"

"Your grace, I would highly recommend you to leave this conversation for another time and start packing. The army was right behind me, we don't have much time." The man advised.

Sakura wanted to protest, the whereabouts of her father were an important matter but her mother stopped her before she could speak.

"Thank you, sir. Would you be so kind and go prepare the horses?" Mother asked him. The man bowed and quickly left.

Sakura turned to her mother, prepared to argue with her but she grabbed her arm and pushed her towards the chests.

"Come, let's pack."

* * *

They did not even had time to leave the city, the army was closer than the man had thought and so they had to claim sanctuary in the nearest abbey. They could not risk being captured, who knows what they might do to her, to her child…Within the abbey they were unreachable, as long as they stayed inside, no one could come and harm them.

The monks were very kind and accommodating, giving them the best rooms they could find. The chamber was small, cold and it smelled musty, barely accommodating them all but Sakura thanked him the most enthusiastically she possibly could.

"Everything will be fine." Her mother consoled her.

"I hope so." _For my child's sake, for all our sake's._ Her husband was probably gone by now, probably in a ship on his way to god knows where and her father was missing, nobody knew where he was, if he was alive…

BOOM! Something hitting a wall, something breaking into a million pieces.

Sakura knew what that something was. _The fight has started._ She just hoped the messenger was wrong and they could, at least hold the city until her husband's return. _I'm hiding, how can I be hiding? If I hide the people will lose their spirit, they will think I have given up, I cannot hide, I cannot…but I must, for my child's sake_. Sakura could not afford to lose her baby, she would do everything to protect it, even if she was branded as a coward.

"You will see, soon enough your husband will be back, he will take the city, you will both go back to where you belong and soon enough you will have your child in your arms and there will be peace." Mother said, getting up from the bed to help her ladies unpack.

"I hope so." Sakura repeated, her hands in her belly, looking through the narrow window that barely let any light in. They were fighting outside those walls, people were dying, dying for her husband, for her, for her child.

* * *

This silence unsettled Sakura and she could not sleep. For months now there had been constant fighting, day, night, it did not seem to matter and this silence…this silence was strange and unsettling for someone who had gotten used to the sounds of cannon balls, of swords, crashes and screams at night. This silence could only mean one thing, the fighting was done…and they had lost.

Sakura could not know for sure but she assumed that if they had won, someone would have come to inform her already. Beside there would be celebrations in the city and she heard none, only silence.

Sakura tried to get of the bed as quietly as possible, as not to wake her sleeping mother and tiptoed towards the narrow bedroom window, careful to avoid stepping onto one of her ladies that were sleeping on the floor, around the bed. The weight of her growing belly made it hard for her not to make noise. She stood on her tiptoes and grabbed onto the window rail for balance, trying to see anything of the outside world but alas the window was too high and, even on her tiptoes, she could not reach it.

Sakura walked towards the small wardrobe to get the chair next to it but a commotion outside made her stop to listen. _Sasuke? Could it be? Is that why everything is so silent? Did he managed to defeat them? Is he back?_

Opening the wardrobe door as silently as possible, Sakura took out a robe, pulling it over her nightclothes and slipped quietly through the door. The corridor was empty but the voices got louder the further she got from her bedchamber. She turned right and found herself staring at peasants where they used to hear mass. _Not Sasuke, then._

"What happened?" She asked the monk. The boys were running around with bread, water and blankets, distributing them between the peasants.

"They came here seeking refuge, your grace. Some men managed to get into the city and the common people are frightened." He answered.

_They got in? What happens now? And why isn't Sasuke coming? _The church part of the small abbey was crowded with people, some were alone, some were whole families, all poor and all here for one single reason, fear.

"Do you know what happened with our army?" Sakura asked him again, never taking her eyes off the common people. Some were laying down on the benches while others curled up on the floor. It was a very sad sight.

"The few that are left are still fighting, your grace, that is what I was told."

_Seems like the lords decided to ignore my letters._ Sakura had made sure to send a letter to every lord, summoning them to bring their armies here, to help in the fight. Some had already gone with Sasuke while others arrived as soon as they got their armies ready but the others…_Some must be on Naruto's side while others are just waiting to see who wins to pledge allegiance._

And still it was not enough, the few armies that had come to help had not been enough and they were losing. _Sasuke should be here, he would know what to do…but he is not, these people are my people and this is our city and we have to protect it._ It fell on her to rule the city, the kingdom while her husband was away.

"I would like to speak with everyone, if you could…"

"Of course, your grace." The white haired man said. "Listen, people, the queen has something to say."

Slowly they started coming forward, some dropping on their knees while others sat or stood. Sakura took a few steps forward so that the people could see her better.

"I know why you are here, I know you are frightened, I understand. I myself came here to get protection and yet we cannot hide while those savages take our city, that is not how it should be, this is our city, these are our walls they are knocking down, our houses they pillage, our men they kill. This cannot be, we have to defend our city. I am but a woman and thus I cannot fight but I'm asking you, men who were born in this city, who work in this city, men who live in this city, go out there and fight, fight for me, for your women, for your children, for your future and persuade others to fight, to join the brave soldiers out there, fighting for our city, dying to defend our city."

Her speech seemed to have some effect on the people for, one by one, the men started getting up, asking for swords, axes, anything that could be used in a fight. They called others too, pulled them up to join and soon enough they were getting out of the church, joining the fight. Sakura even saw young boys picking up arms. _Some of those boys will never come back…but this will buy us more time, time for Sasuke to get home._

"What should we do, your grace?" One of the women asked.

"We pray," Sakura said, placing her hands on her growing belly. "And hope for their safe return."

* * *

They were holding on, no better in defeating them but not worse either, they were holding on, waiting for Sasuke to come back.

Sakura was nearing the month when she would go into confinement and she did not wish to it here, in an abbey, without her husband knowing they were having a baby. She wanted her husband to come back, she wanted to tell him and she wanted him to carry her back to their castle. She was supposed to have their baby in the comforts of their home, surrounded by midwives and physicians. The entire court would be waiting and there would be feats and fireworks celebrating the birth of their child. _He will come before that, he will come soon and he will take us home._

Sakura was hardly allowed to move anymore, her mother and her ladies always fussing around her, making sure she had everything she wanted, making sure she didn't exhaust herself. They were very attentive and nice but Sakura missed her husband and she missed her home. _Where are you Sasuke? Why haven't you come home? I miss you and I need you, we all need you. Come home soon._

The baby was moving, he had a habit of kicking that would hurt her sometimes. "Uh, that hurt, baby." She talked to her belly. Her baby had just delivered a kick to her ribs that left her breathless. The baby had been very active these last few months, moving around a lot. "I hope your father will be here soon, he will be very happy to know of you."

Sakura wished everyday for news of her husband and her father but in all these months she hadn't received anything, not a messenger, a letter or a simple note saying they were alive and well, nothing but she still hoped for them both.

* * *

The room was so dark, Sakura could barely see the bedposts. She was nearing the end of her confinement month, her baby would be born soon…_And Sasuke is still not back._ She was not allowed any contact with the outside world but if her husband was back, he would have come here already to take her home.

Sakura had little to do inside that dark room, she could not get up from the bed but to go to the privy or to take a bath, she could not read for there was no light and her ladies barely talked to her for fear they might say something that could disturb her.

She still had no news of either, her husband or her father and so she sat in her little bed, in the dark, musky smelling room thinking about all the possible things that could have happened to them. She didn't dwell on the bad thoughts, she didn't want to cause her baby harm so, every time her thoughts turned dark, she would think about their return, about home and about her baby. Sakura thought a lot about her baby, if it would be a boy or a girl, how would it look like. She thought about names and how to decorate the baby's nursery. She had already decided that she wanted the baby to stay next to her and so it's nursery would be right next to her bedchamber.

Sakura suddenly felt a pain in her belly, different from what she felt when her baby kicked. The pain didn't last long and Sakura dismissed it as her baby moving around. It came again a while later and, as before didn't last long but Sakura was worried, _what if something is happening to my baby? _She moved around in the bed, trying to get more comfortable when she felt her hand wet. Sakura pushed the covers back and noticed her nightgown and sheets were soaked.

"Mother!" She shouted. "Mother, my water broke!"

Her mother and her ladies came to her side right away, they made her lay down on the center of the bed and pushed her legs apart. Two of her ladies were on each side of her mother, holding Sakura's ankles, another was beside her, adjusting the pillows beneath green eyed woman's head. The other ladies were heating water on the fireplace and tearing sheets apart.

The pain came and went, sometimes it was sharper than others but it was nothing Sakura couldn't handle. Labor didn't feel as painful as she had heard it to be.

* * *

She couldn't have been more wrong, she found five hours later when she was holding on one of her ladies hand for dear life and was screaming so loudly she was sure the small abbey would come down on them.

They had placed a sheet on her mouth for her to bite on but that did little to relieve her pain, it felt like she was being tortured, it felt like someone was pulling a limb from her and she wasn't sure she was strong enough to handle it. _It's hot, it's so hot. Why is everything so hot?_

"Darling, I need you to push." Her mother shouted when she stopped pushing. _I can't,_ she wanted to say. _I'm so tired, it hurts, everything hurts._ "Come on, darling, soon you will have your baby in your arms."

_My baby, I want my baby._ She made an effort to push, she wanted to bring her baby into the world, she wanted Sasuke to meet the baby.

The room was always dark so Sakura had no idea how much time she had been there, on that bed but she knew she had been there for hours. The birth was not being easy and hard births meant more time on the birthing bed.

"And here he is, you have a beautiful, healthy baby boy." Mother announced, cutting the umbilical cord and giving him to the waiting lady who would clean him.

"Can I rest now?" Sakura asked. She really wanted a bath too, she was filthy but she had no energy left in her.

"In a little while, dear, we are not done yet and don't you want to see your son?"

* * *

"Come, Sakura. You cannot sleep on those dirty clothes." Mother helped her sit up on the bed. Sakura had almost fallen asleep but mother didn't let her, they wanted to bathe her and change the sheets. In any other situation Sakura would be disgusted of sleeping in those sheets but she was so tired, she just wanted to rest.

Mother helped her into the bath. _This is nice_. The warm water made her aching muscles relax and relieved her pains a little.

Sakura heard her baby cry and mother reappeared with him on her arms. "He's hungry. You have to feed him yourself, we brought no wet nurses with us."

Mother sat in a nearby chair, rocking back and forth in efforts to calm the baby while she finished her bath. Her ladies helped Sakura climb into her bed and she uncovered her chest while her mother passed the baby to her waiting arms.

It was the first time Sakura saw or held her baby boy. _He is so beautiful, my baby boy._ Sakura brought him towards her naked chest, his little mouth latched onto her nipple and he vigorously started sucking. All her fatigue was forgotten the moment her baby was in her arms, all these hours of pain, all her aching muscles, all that was irrelevant when she had her little boy in her arms.

"What will you name him?" Mother asked.

Sakura had thought of a few names during this month's but she wanted her husband's opinion. "I cannot name him yet." _Not without his father, not without Sasuke._

"Why ever not?" Mother asked, confused.

"Sasuke should be here to name him." The baby had finished his feeding and was falling asleep. Sakura hummed him a lullaby, slowly swinging her arms. When she was sure he was fully asleep, Sakura lay her baby boy down, next to her on the bed and placed a pillow on his left side so he wouldn't fall from the bed during the night.

"You two should rest." Mother said, pushing her down so Sakura was also laying down. Her mother pushed the covers up and arranged them around them both.

"Goodnight." She kissed the sleeping baby's head and gave Sakura a kiss on the forehead.

"Where will you sleep?" Sakura asked, up until today Sakura and her mother had shared the bed for there were no extra bedchambers in the small abbey.

"I will find a corner to settle into, I'll even ask one of the boys to bring in another of those mini beds." She answered.

Satisfied with her answer, Sakura turned around in bed so that she was now facing her little boy. She placed her hand on top of his smaller one and watched the rise and fall of his chest. _My boy, my beautiful baby boy. Your father will be so proud. _Her baby's lips were parted slightly, he was breathing from his mouth. Sakura moved quietly on the bed and kissed his cheek, careful not to wake him and settle down next to him, her hand now resting on top of his small chest. _Goodnight, baby boy._

_To Be Continued..._


	5. Chapter 5

_And it's breaking over me_

_A thousand miles onto the sea bed_

_I found the place to rest my head_

_Never let me go, never let me go_

__-Never let me go by Florence and The Machine

* * *

_Perseus and Pegasus circled the sea monster, waiting for an opportunity to strike. The monster was strong but he was not smart but Perseus wanted the monster to come after him which he did not, the monster only wanted the girl._

_Pegasus shot another flash of light and the monster screamed again. The monster was faster than Perseus had thought and so he was knock off Pegasus and into the freezing sea water. The monster followed Perseus into the sea, he had the advantage in the water but Perseus wasn't about to give up._

_Perseus managed to climb a rock and waited for the monster to surface, weapon ready and when he did Perseus sliced off his hideous head._

* * *

Sakura lay down her baby, careful not to wake him up, she had just fed him and the little angel had fallen asleep in the middle of breastfeeding. Her baby ate a lot, Sakura discovered in the first few days of his existence, he would eat every two hours or so. He was a very peaceful baby, he rarely cried and he loved when people played with his feet.

The door opened with a bang, startling everyone inside the room and making the baby wake up, crying. A tall man stepped through the door and walked towards her. Sakura knew that man.

"Now you have woken the baby." She scolded him while rocking the weeping baby to calm him.

"Baby?" His hide were wide and fearful as he moved to sit next to her, his eyes focused only on the crying baby. With the new proximity, Sakura had the opportunity to study his face better, his hair was longer than before, reaching to just before his shoulders and he had grown a beard these last months but he was still as handsome as ever.

"It's a boy, a very healthy boy."

Sasuke stretched his hand, reaching for the baby but then let it fall to the bed. Seeing this, Sakura grabbed his recently fallen hand and placed it on top of the baby's head and his hand moved almost instantly, caressing the little head.

"What have you named him?" He whispered as though not to wake the now sleeping baby.

"I was waiting for you to name him." She whispered back, smiling at his fascinated face. "Do you want to hold him?"

Sasuke nodded reluctantly and held out his arms, Sakura showed him how to hold the baby and passed him to the awaiting father's arms.

"Itachi." He said after a while. "I want to name him Itachi."

"It's a beautiful name." Sakura whispered, hugging her husband from behind. Oh how she had missed him. She tightened her arms around him, she never wanted to let him leave again. _It's been far too long._

"Sire, we need you!" Sir Kiba shouted, bursting through the door and waking the baby once again.

"Now you have woken the baby." Her husband scolded him just as she had him just moments ago. He handed her the baby back to her and rose to go talk with sir Kiba.

After Sakura managed to calm the weeping baby and put him in the bed, she went to her husband who was still talking to the knight and hugged him once again. His hands came to rest on top of hers, squeezing them.

They finished the conversation and sir Kiba left with the promise that the King would soon join him. "You can't leave again, you just got back!" Sakura complained, grabbing his face to kiss him. _He cannot leave, I will not let him leave, not after so long, please no._

"I am sorry, sweetheart, but the war is not over yet, we thought we had defeated them all but they had backup and we must defeat them also." He told her, kissing every inch of her face. "Oh, I missed you so, sweetheart."

"Don't leave." Sakura begged him. _Nothing matters, nothing, not the kingdom, not the war, not Naruto, nothing as long as you are here with me, please don't leave me._

"I must but I shall return soon and I will take you home, both of you." His lips lingered on hers but much too soon he had moved and Sakura was left wanting more. She watched him kiss his son's forehead and walk to the door, he stopped and turned around to look at them but left quickly.

Sakura was left in tears but she had no idea why she was crying, there was the joy from the reunion with her husband and the sadness from his departure once again but she had never cried because of that before, why was she crying now?

* * *

There have been two days, _I thought the battle would be quick_. Sakura had no idea what was happening because no one would tell her anything, they all still treated her as if she was still with child.

There was a knock on the door and one of her ladies hurried to open it. Sakura saw sir Kiba enter the room and ran to him.

"Sir Kiba, do you have news for me?" She asked him, eager for any information he could give her.

"Yes, your grace. I have come to take you to the palace, the king…will be waiting for you there." Sir Kiba looked very glum for someone who survived a war.

"That means we won, doesn't it?" It was obvious that they had won but Sakura need to hear those words.

"Yes, your grace, we have won."

* * *

Sir Kiba had a reason to look glum, Sakura learned later that day when she arrived at the palace. She was anxious to see her husband again but when she entered his bedchamber, there was no one there.

"Where is my husband?" Sakura asked sir Kiba, trying to keep calm. The man did not answer her, Sakura felt tears start forming in her eyes. "Where is he?"

"He's coming." Sir Kiba finally answered, looking at a spot behind her. Sakura turned around to see her husband being transported in a stretcher by four knights, blood all over him. Sakura ran down the stairs to meet them.

"What happened?" She asked them, looking at the huge gash on her husband's stomach. _Oh no, no. It cannot be, not now, he just came home._

"His grace was injured in battle, your grace." Sir Kiba was the one who answered her. _Yes, I can see that_. She wanted to shout at him, scream and cry but she could not, she had to be strong now, for her husband and for her baby boy.

"Take him to his chamber and call the physician."

The knights started moving towards her husband's bedchamber and she followed. _He is not moving, why is he not moving_? Not even when they moved him to lay on the bed did he make a single sound. _Please god, you cannot take him, you cannot. I need him, our baby needs him, our kingdom needs him. Don't take him away from me, please._

Sakura moved all the cloth out of the way of the gash, she grabbed a clean piece of cloth and ripped it to clean the blood of his wound. _So much blood, there is so much blood. Where is the physician? Why is he taking so long?_

Not long after, the court's physician entered the room. "May I ask what you are doing, your grace?"

Sakura moved aside to let the old man see her husband's wound. "I was just cleaning the blood."

The man nodded and started stir the wound. Sakura could not bear to watch it so she knelt in front of the window of her husband's chamber and started praying. _Please don't take him away, God. He is still so very young, he has a child to care for, a kingdom to care for. Do not take him away from me._

Sakura heard the old man call her and she noticed it was sunset already. "Yes?" She asked, eager for news. _He'll be fine, tell me he will be fine._

"I am afraid I do not have good news, your grace." He said. "His grace will not survive this wound."

Sakura suppressed a sob, covering her mouth her hand. _He is going to die? Sasuke is going to die? _Sakura could not master her voice to speak, it seemed that all the strength had left her body, it seemed like someone had ripped her heart out, she wanted to cry, to scream, to disappear. _No, it's not true, it cannot be true._

"How long does he have?"

"A fortnight, perhaps. The wound is infected and it will kill his grace slowly." The man informed her.

"And there is nothing you can do?" There must be some kind of treatment, something for the infection. "Something you can treat it with?"

"I am afraid not, your grace, there is no cure for this kind of infection. I am sorry."

Sakura felt breathless and faint, she was watching all this happen and she could do nothing and she hated that, this helplessness, this not knowing what to do, it was too much, it was all too much. She asked the man to leave and went to sit beside her husband. His wound was bandaged and there was nothing else Sakura could do to help.

"You cannot die, I will not let you die." She whispered. Sakura grabbed his hand between both of hers, she lowered her head and she prayed.

"Darling." Her mother called, shaking her shoulder.

"What is wrong, mother?" Sakura asked her, she wanted to stay with Sasuke, she didn't want to be disturbed.

Her mother made her get up. "You have been here for hours, you have to rest. Tomorrow will be a very tiring day for you, there's much to be decided."

"I don't care about any of that, can't you see the state my husband is in?" How could her mother not understand? "I want to stay with him."

Her mother grabbed her arm, pushing her towards the door. "Come, Sakura, you need rest."

"I told you, I don't want to go!" Sakura tried to shake her mother off but the woman was stubborn.

"Don't you want to see your son?"

Only then Sakura remembered that it had been hours since she last fed her baby. _He must be starving, my poor baby. I'm a horrible mother._

"Is he alright?" Sakura asked, panicked. Her baby needed to eat, he needed her and she hadn't been there.

"Yes, we got a wet nurse for him, he is sleeping now." Sakura only now had realized that her mother had pushed her out of the room.

"A wet nurse?" Sakura knew they were supposed to have wet nurses but she had gotten used to feeding her baby and she did not want to give that up.

"Yes, the prince should have had one right from the beginning but the circumstances…well he has one now."

They had arrived in her bedchamber and the moment she stepped inside her ladies came to her side, getting her out of her dress to put on her nightclothes.

"I would like to pray." She told her ladies when they finished getting her dressed for bed. Sakura had a small alter in her bedchamber in which she knelt in front of to pray. _If this is the only thing I can do, then I shall do it as much as I can._

* * *

The morning brought even more bad news, sir Kiba informed her that her father had died in battle, Sakura was sure she had never seen her mother worse than that.

Sakura was to act as regent for the time being and that meant having to deal with the consequences of this war.

"We have no men to spare to go retrieve the bodies, your grace." Sir Kiba told her when she asked him to send men to search and bring back the bodies of the fallen.

Sakura wanted her father's body back and she would have it."Don't you have prisoners?"

"We do, your grace." The knight answered.

"Well, put them to work." Sakura dismissed the knight and the chancellor entered the room. Sakura spent a good part of the morning with the chancellor discussing which lands that were to be taken from which lords, which lands had no owner and to whom the lands should be given to. There was also the issue of deciding who should be pardoned and who should be punished.

"What will you do with the traitor, your grace?" He asked.

"He must die." Her and Sasuke had discussed this several times and he had always said that Naruto had to die, he was a threat to her family.

"A public execution, your grace?"

"Yes."

The young man bowed and left. There were other matters to attend but Sakura wanted to go see her husband, even if it was just for a few minutes. On her way to her husband's bedchamber she heard her baby cry from the nursery and went to see him.

The wet nurse was already uncovering her breast to feed the child. All the women in the room stopped what they were doing and bowed when they say her.

"Give him to me." Sakura commanded the woman who was holding her son.

"But…your grace…" Sakura took the child from her arms and spread kisses all over his face, her baby, her sweet baby that could never get to know his father. "We are going to see the king."

Sakura sat on a chair near her husband's bed and asked Kyra to unlace her corset so she could feed her baby. When Itachi was finished she sat on the bed and put him on Sasuke's chest.

"See, my love, that's your father. He is very sick right now so he cannot hold you but he will be fine, he will live to see you grow, he has to." Sakura hugged her two boys and she cried, she cried and cried until her head ached.

"I apologize, your grace. I did not know you were here." Sakura turned and found the physician standing by the door. She grabbed her baby and got up from the bed.

"Please, do whatever you need to do." She told the man. "Can I stay?"

The white haired man nodded and changed the bandages on her husband's stomach, he then took out a brownish green liquid which he gave to Sasuke to drink.

Sakura was curious to know what that liquid was."What is that?"

"It's a potion made of common rue, honey, old vinegar and sea salt for the fever." He replied.

"Is it normal, the fever?" Sakura asked. _Is the fever part of it or did he catch some disease?_

"Yes, your grace. The fever is caused by the infection."

Sakura nodded and shut up, letting the man work in peace. When he was done, he left the potion in the table and told her that a teaspoon of it should be given to Sasuke every three hours.

"You see baby, the doctor doesn't think you father will make it but we do, don't we, baby boy?" She cried, kissing the top of his little head. "Yes we do, your father will be fine."

* * *

Sasuke wasn't getting any better and he was getting thinner and thinner day by bay. Sakura feared for her husband, if he was getting thinner, how could he get better? The physician told her that he was doing everything in his power but it had been a week and there was no change in his state.

Sakura grabbed the potion from the tabled and filled the spoon then she opened her husband's mouth gently and poured it into his mouth. She changed the cloth on his forehead and went to her baby's side, hugging him.

Itachi had recently made a fortnight and opposite from his father, he was getting bigger every day. _It's no surprise, he eats so much._

"You are here again." Sakura recognized her mother's voice but she did not answered her. "Sakura, this is not healthy, not for and not for the baby."

"He needs to spend time with his father." She said, hugging her baby tighter. And Sasuke needs him too.

"But this is too much, you spend your days closed up in this room." Mother placed her hands on her shoulders. "Darling, you being here is not going to help him, it's in god's hands now."

_You don't understand mother, you don't understand. I have to be here, with him, he needs me, us, he needs both of us._ Sakura simply remained quiet, she did not want to start a fight.

"Come, let us go to the gardens, walk, get some air." Sakura let herself be dragged outside but she intended to come later. _Perhaps it's best if the baby doesn't stay so much time here, I don't want him to get sick._

Her ladies were all outside the room, waiting for her. _How long have they been there? Do they do this all the time?_ Everything had been a blur this last week, Sakura only cared about her husband and her baby, they were the only thing that mattered right now. Sakura knew she had duties and she tried her best to fulfill them but she could not bear to be away from her husband for long.

The gardens were beautiful this time of the year, all the flowers were in bloom, all the trees had bright green leaves and everything was cut and shaped to perfection.

"They brought father's body today." Sakura told her mother. "We can give him a proper burial now."

Her mother nodded, visibly distraught. "Where will you bury him?"

"I wanted to bury him here." Sakura told her, she wished to be close to her father. "But I think he would like to be buried at home."

"Yes, I think he would prefer that." Her mother agreed.

* * *

"Darling, the doctor says that it's only a matter of days." Her mother said, trying to take her off her husband. "I think it would be best to start the preparations for the funeral."

"No." She would not prepare any funeral.

"Darling it's only a matter of t-"

"No, he is not dead yet so stop talking like he is!" Sakura shouted. She would not accept anyone talking as if her husband was dead already, he was not and Sasuke was strong. _He will get better, he will survive. He has to._

Her mother left, probably deciding it was best to leave her alone and Sakura got back to her prayers. _No matter what anyone says I will not give up on him._ Her knees hurt from all the hours she spent praying beside her husband's bed and her eyes were red and puffy from all the crying. _Funeral she says…funerals are for the dead and Sasuke is most certainly not dead._

Her back was aching by the time she got up to go see her baby boy and she could barely walk thanks to the aching on her knees. Still, praying was all she could do and she would pray even if she bled, she would pray all day and night if that returned Sasuke to her.

* * *

Forty days, forty days and Sasuke was still the same, he did not die, as the physician had predicted but he did not get better either as she had hoped. His wound was mostly healed now but the fever remained and he still would not wake up, he would not even move, ever.

"You are missing our baby's growth, my love." She told him. "He is such a delightful little boy and he is so grown up now."

Sakura moved some of his raven colored hair out of his forehead. "You must come back to us."

A knock resounded across the room and after her permission to come in, the physician entered the room.

"You sent for me, your grace?"

"Yes, the king is not getting better at all, isn't there something you can do? Something you can give him?" She asked, she refused to believe that there was nothing that could be done.

"I am trying my best, your grace."

"But you don't think he will survive." It wasn't Sakura's intention to be mean to the old man but she couldn't stand that he had already given up on her Sasuke.

"No, your grace, as I said yesterday and the day before that and the day before that…I think it's only a matter of time."

"You said he had no more than a fortnight and he survived more than a fortnight, how can you say he is not going to survive?" _You have been wrong before and I will only give up when he's dead, when there's nothing left to do._

"I…your grace…"The man seemed lost.

"Do you have something to give him?"

Sakura heard the man's steps behind her. "Yes, I made a potion which will help the blood circulate."

"And that will help him?" She wanted to know, she needed to know.

The old man shrugged. "I can only try, your grace."

"Have you spoken to any other physicians? Asked their opinions?" She insisted. Sakura knew for a fact that father's physician exchanged thoughts and ideas with other physicians when dealing with an unknown disease.

"I have not." He admitted.

Sakura nodded. "I'll send for some to come to court."

Sakura trusted fathers physician, she would send mother a letter asking her if she could do without her physician for a while. She hope her mother was fine, now that she was alone, no husband and no daughter. When she had left court, mother seemed alright, sad of course, grieving but she had always been a strong woman and it seemed to Sakura that she had come to terms with her husband's death long before they found his body but that had been when she was surrounded by people, either by her ladies and the monks on the abbey or with hundreds of people at court, there she had only the servants to keep her company…_poor mother, I'll tell her to come back, now that father is properly buried, perhaps she'll come._ Sakura would make sure to write to fathers physician too to ask him to give her some other names.

"You can leave that here, I'll give it to him. How many spoons?"

"Three, your grace, twice a day, morning and night." He bowed and left.

* * *

Mother had refused to come back to court, saying she would rather stay home but she had spared the physician who had arrived a fortnight ago and his diagnosis had been the same. Since then, he and the court physician had been working together, trying to find a cure but no success so far.

"He is better, at least I think he is." Sakura told her baby. His fever had disappeared so Sakura assumed that was a good sign.

Sakura felt a squeeze in her hand and her heart jumped. _Sasuke squeezed my hand, he squeezed my hand!_

"Sasuke? Sasuke, can you hear me?" There was no response from him. "If you can hear me, squeeze my hand again."

And he did, his squeeze was weak but that gave her such hope. All this time and he had not moved once, that could only mean he was getting better.

"Help." She shouted. "Help!"

A servant boy ushered into the room and before he could even open his mouth, Sakura was already giving him instructions. "Go fetch the physician, quickly."

The physician was breathless when he entered the room. "What is happening, your grace?"

"He moved." She said, excitedly.

"Moved?" The old man questioned, walking towards the bed.

"Yes, he squeezed my hand, twice."

The look Sakura saw in the white haired man's eyes did not please her. "That only means that he is conscious."

"But isn't that progress? He never moved during all this time and now he did, you cannot tell me that means nothing." Sakura argued.

"I would advise your grace not to keep your hopes up, this can mean something but most likely it means nothing." He said.

"So you maintain your diagnose?" She asked.

"I would like to examine his grace first."

Sakura nodded and moved to a chair behind the bed where she could watch what the physician was doing.

"Hold his hand and ask him to squeeze it." Sakura advised him. The man looked at her as if she was crazy but did what she asked. Sakura saw him nod to himself and make a note on a piece of paper.

"Well?" She asked when she saw the man was finished.

The man cleared his throat before speaking. "His grace is conscious and his grace does seem to be getting better."

"That's good, isn't it?" He did not seem very pleased.

"Yes, it seems to be a good thing." He was very vague and Sakura gave him a look that meant for him to explain better. _Seems to be, how can it seem to be, it is or it isn't._ "There are cases where the person gets better and then dies suddenly. We do not know why but it happens."

"Are you saying that's what's going to happen or that it may happen?" Sakura did not want possibilities, she did not want maybes or perhaps, she wanted facts and certainties.

"It may happen."

"But he's getting better?" She asked. "And there is a possibility that he will keep getting better?"

"Yes, there is a very good chance that his grace will recover."

Relief flooded her when she heard the physicians words and she had to contain her joy so that she wouldn't scare the old man.

"Thank you, you may go now, if you are finished." She told him. "And call Lady Mikoto, I'm sure she would like to know."

Lady Mikoto had departed for her late husband's lands soon after the wedding but she decided to come back to court after Sakura had informed her of her son's situation.

After the old man left, Sakura grabbed her baby and placed him on his father's chest, one hand holding the baby in place and the other holding her husband's hand.

"May I?" The Lady Mikoto asked her.

"Yes, yes, of course. Come sit beside me, please."

Sakura took her hand, palm up and placed her husband's hand on top.

"Can he understand us?" Lady Mikoto asked, stoking her son's hand with affection.

Sakura gave her a warm smile. "I believe so, he squeezed my hand when I asked him to."

Mikoto started talking to her son and Sakura picked up hers, leaving as quietly as possible. _She needs some time with him._

* * *

Sakura opened her eyes and Kyra was standing over her, shaking her shoulders.

"What is wrong?" _Why is she waking me at this hour? It's still dark._

"His grace is awake and he's asking for you, madam."

_He is awake? Sasuke is awake?_ Sakura threw the bed covers back and ran to the door, not caring to put on shoes or a robe. He is awake.

Lady Mikoto and the physician were already inside the room, the old man asking Sasuke questions while Lady Mikoto merely observed. The physician looked shocked and only when she saw him staring at her that way did she notice that she was in her nightclothes. _How inappropriate. _All her rush to get to her husband made her forget her manners.

The lady Mikoto and the physician stepped aside to let her see her husband and Sakura carefully climbed into bed next to him.

"Hello." She greeted carefully. Her eyes were glued to his, those beautiful black eyes she had missed do much.

Sasuke gave her his mischievous smile."Hello, sweetheart."

Sakura was about to launch herself to him, to hug him and kiss him, to make up for all the lost time but she stopped herself before she touched him. _He might be hurting… _"Can I?"

Sasuke nodded, giving her permission to touch him. Sakura placed her hands on his face and brought it forward, kissing first his cheek then his nose, his forehead and finally his lips. Sasuke mimicked her, placing his hands on his face and kissing her back passionately.

Feeling his hands moving towards her breasts, Sakura broke the kiss and stepped away from him, blushing when she noticed the lady Mikoto and the physician watched everything. _What is he smiling about? This is so embarrassing!_

Sakura cleared her throat and turned to the physician. "Is he alright now?"

"Yes, it seems that the infection is mostly healed." The white haired man agreed.

Lady Mikoto smiled at her and Sakura smiled back, sharing the older woman's relief and joy in hearing the news. _Sasuke is back, he is fine._ Sakura turned her head and gave her husband a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I'm going to get my grandson, I'm sure Sasuke wants to see his boy." Lady Mikoto left, dragging the physician with her. The moment the brown wooden door closed, Sasuke clasped her waist and threw her on the back, straddling her. His lips were on her neck in an instant and his hands were already slipping beneath her nightgown.

"It seems you are not properly dressed, wife." Her murmured against her throat.

Sakura felt like she was on fire and he had barely touched her._ Apparently I missed him in more ways than I thought._ The moment his hand came in contact with her breast, Sakura pushed him back. "They will be here soon."

Sasuke pouted but didn't insist. "How is the baby?"

"He is fine, growing. He is a strong, healthy boy." Sakura answered.

"I am glad." He said. There was a moment of silence where neither said anything. "What happened after the battle? With Naruto?"

"We captured him and he was executed, as you wished." She said. "He is no longer a threat."

Her husband put an arm around her and brought her closer to kiss her head.

"Are you alright?" She asked. Sakura feared that he might be hurting. "Does it hurt anywhere?"

"Yes, I am alright and no, it does not hurt anywhere. I was sleeping for a long time, after all."

Sakura raised her eyebrows, confused. "How do you know that?"

"The physician told me."

"You are in luck, he was awake." Lady Mikoto said, stepping into the room. She gave the baby to Sasuke who looked absolutely besotted with the baby.

"He is so big." He commented absently. "Do you feed him?"

Sakura stroked her baby's head. "Yes, he had a wet nurse for a while but I could not bear it."

Her husband seemed lost, he was looking at the baby but he did not seem to know what to do as if he was afraid if he would break."He likes it when you play with his feet."

In that moment Sakura had a glimpse of how her husband had been as a child as his playful and childish side came out.

* * *

"Do not ever do that to me again." Sakura told her husband, tracing the scar the wound had left behind. Sasuke laughed, running his hands through her hair. "I'm serious."

"I know, I'm sorry, sweetheart." He tugged on her hair so that she raised her head from his chest, where it was resting and kissed her. "But I might just let you keep doing my job."

"I couldn't."

"You have been doing great so far. That's quite a good idea, you run the kingdom and I lay around all day, play cards, spend time with my son…" He said.

Sakura playfully punched him on the ribs. "Stop being a lazy ass and go do your job."

Sasuke pretended to be shocked, even going as far as gasping. "Queen Sakura, did you just say ass? My, my, you were so sweet and innocent three years ago and now you are saying ass without even blushing, how dirty."

"My husband is a dirty man."

Sasuke squeezed her ass. "Is he now?"

He captured her bottom lip with his teeth and then his tongue was inside her mouth as he pushed her into the bed.

"How about we prove that theory right now?"

* * *

_Andromeda was shaking by the time Perseus got to her, she threw herself in his arms and thanked him over and over again and then she kissed him, long and deep._

_Perseus knelt in front of the woman he had fallen in love with, he knew it was typical to ask the father first but theirs was not a typical story either._

"_Andromeda, will you marry me?" He asked._

_The young girl smiled and kissed his lips softly. She had accepted her fate long ago._

The End


End file.
